Egger v. Phillips

In this damage action, brought directly under the Constitution, plaintiff-appellant Charles Egger appeals pro se1 from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant Harlan Phillips, Egger's former supervisor at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In his complaint and supporting papers Egger alleged that Phillips' actions as FBI supervisor violated a number of constitutional provisions, including the First, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, and were ultimately responsible for Egger's allegedly unconstitutional discharge from the FBI. On appeal Egger argues that in granting summary judgment, the district court impermissibly evaluated the documentary evidence submitted by the parties and ignored the presence of several disputed issues of material fact. Because we find that the district court incorrectly analyzed Egger's First Amendment claim, and because our examination of the record confirms the existence of disputed issues of material fact relevant to that claim, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment. I.